26 Treasures, including some Chessmen

26 Treasures is a project conceived last year at the V&A that inspires writers to respond to museum objects. This year the idea is national, so 26 writers chose artefacts from the Scotland gallery at the National Museum of Scotland and were required to write to, from or about their object, in exactly 62 words. Naturally, the Uig Chessmen are amongst them, having been selected by V Campbell; there’s also a lump of Lewisian Gneiss. Alexander Peden’s mask, the Maiden and the wee coffins of Arthur’s Seat are also there. The pieces (and pieces) are below (click Expand to pop open the booklet – the list of objects is on the last page) and the exhibition is open from today through 29 January 2012 at NMS in Edinburgh.

More information, including detail of the similar Welsh and Northern Ireland projects, can be found on the 26 Treasures website, as can a list of forthcoming events and a blog. You can also download the catalogue as a PDF and discover more about the individual objects here.